COMMERCIAL DESCRIPTIONTurbodog is the inspiration for this robust dark ale. It is brewed with generous amounts of pale, caramel, and chocolate malts and Willamette hops. Whole natural vanilla beans are added during the aging process.This combination provides a rich body and color with chocolate, vanilla and toffee-like flavor.

25 years ago Abita Brewing was founded on a pristine artesian aquifer north of New Orleans. For a quarter of a century, Abita has proudly brewed full-flavored ales and lagers. We thank our loyal customers for their support and pledge to continue the tradition of brewing excellence.

Location: 22 oz bottle from Oak Tree, 12/2/12
This beer has a sweet vanilla and toffee scent, quite nice. Medium darkness, not quite as dark as a porter. The taste is malty and fairly sweet with some vanilla undertones. A nice desert beer but nothing spectacular.

22oz bottle -
Abita should be very proud of this product. It’s very easy to create a trainwreck when making an American Strong, but what’s produced is almost like a porter with a lot of vanilla in it.
Aroma is mild vanilla (almost like smelling melted vanilla ice cream), woody, some toffee syrup and a touch of roast. Flavor has some major vanilla notes, but it’s a bit too much like imitation vanilla (think synthetic Vanillan). There’s also a good bit of chocolate/toffee, caramel and coffee. But the vanilla is what ties it all together. Good beer. Wish it had a richer flavor w/o the overly fake flavor.

"I like the vanilla aspect of the flavor, and even the aroma (it seemed a bit artificial at first but got nicer as it opened up) but this beer was a bit of a letdown with it’s thin, almost watery feel, and lack of any kind of finish or presence really except for the vanilla flavor. i love a good vanilla beer...this seems like a chick brew, not bad but definitely nothing special."

From BA review on 3-11-12 -
Poured from bottle into tulip shaped glass
Appearance- Pours a nice deep brown, nearly black color, with a large off-white head. The head has some nice retention and persists for some time to give some very nice lacing on the sides of the glass.
Smell – Chocolate aromas are the most pertinent. These are mixed with a nice vanilla aroma, sweetening up the smell and overall creating a delicious smelling brew.
Taste – Chocolate tastes meet the tongue. The chocolate is a mainly cocoa in nature, but there is a bit of vanilla sweetnsss that is also present brining on a slightly milk chocolate flavor. There are notes of roastiness that come into play in the middle, giving a little bit more bitterness. Toward the end however, a light sweet vanilla comes into fruition rounding out the taste experience. While the vanilla is in the taste throughout much of the experience it is a little bit disappointing as it is very light, and not what the nose would lead on to expect. Even with a “lighter vanilla” it does have a good taste overall.
Mouthfeel- Medium bodied with a moderate level of carbonation. For the style, the body is a little too thin and the carbonation is a bit too high. It never really lets the beer linger on the tongue and sooth, like a great chocolaty darker beer will.
Overall- It has a nice nose, look and a good taste, but the mouthfeel is a little off. It’s a nice brew, but one I would likely not drink with any real regularity.

Rated on 6-17-2012 (Bottle) The appearance is a large tan head that mostly diminishes, slightly hazy reddish brown body, very little carbonation, and spotty amounts of lacing. The aroma is vanilla, caramel malt, chocolate and sweet. The flavor is sweet, lightly bitter, chocolate, malt, lightly roasty and has a dry finish. The mouthfeel is smooth and this beer is medium bodied. This is a quaffable beer with the ABV being hidden. It is worth trying and a beer I would consider drinking again.

"Dark, muddy looking brown with a small dark head. Vanilla aroma was nice along with an earthy malt. A bit thin - far thinner that I imagined - to the pallette and a weak caramel-malt-toffee flavor. Lacking a robust quality."

Bottle from Ashur Liquor: Poured a deep shade of brown liquid while a huge thick topping of foam formed the head. As for the aroma, a faint nose of lightly roasted malt while only a minor scent of vanilla bean comes through. Thankfully, the flavor is a little bit more rewarding with a sweet touch of dark malts that bring out a chocolate milk taste. There is also a more noticeable taste of the vanilla bean added then the aroma was able to convince me, but overall this is a tame and smooth recipe that is easily drinkable and certainly demonstrates that Abita Brewing can work out a decent and worthy recipe if they try hard enough.

Appearance: itâ€™s a very dark maroon color, practically opaque but if you hold it up to the light you can see thru it, clear, very thick tan head that is dense Aroma: coffee, chocolate, kind of faint, vanilla, creamy, sweet, dark and roasty Taste: vanilla on top of a coffee foundation, can get the hops if you focus, plum, toasty Palate: high carbonation, leaves a slight coffee aftertaste, medium mouthfeel, leaves mouth dry Overall: this is a better stout than most to me, less coffee in this stout, wish it had more vanilla but not bad ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

Brown pour with a light tan head. Aromas of lightly roasted malts with some notes of vanilla. Taste is similar with some toffee notes. A bit lighter than what I was expecting really. Not quite as robust and flavorful as I would have liked. Still, a decent brew and pretty drinkable. Goes well with food.

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